Cromwell '46 X-tanks .... winter camo update

All of those are just fantastic!

I'd love to find that T28 Super Heavy in 1/35!

That's the $64000 question Manny.  Cromwell, while producing EXCELLENT kits, is a very small operation and the owner, Gordon Brown, has had to handle family affairs.  As such, their output seems to far lag behind demand.  Ordering direct from them seems to be the only half-way reliable means to get the kits.  I don't think any stores handle their wares due to the production issues.

But that being said, I can vouch for them 100% that the kits are suh-WEET!  I built up their Churchill Mk IV, their 8.8cm Flak 41 and have yet to finish their 12.8cm Krupp Pak 44 (all in 1/35 scale).

, Looking forward to seeing you getting a splash of colour on these gems.

Terry.

Although its not something I normally do this time I checked my stash of ref pics during assembly to make sure eveything got in the right place  ......  :blink:

And a couple of minor issues. The elevation balance rams are too short, by about 2.5mm. If glued in place as is, the weapon will sit quite nose down. Its an issue because the shield rests on the top face of them. The shield should really be a little further forward, on the real thing when the gun is level the shield should be above the rams and not parallel, the gap has about a 10o difference to it. I think to make things easy and for a bit of extra strength they decided to use the rams for support.

Anyway I cut off the ram end connectors and added some pins of the right length. The detail isnt correct but it does the job and gives the weapon the right "sit" ......  no other issues at all with assembly on the PaK.

And did the OD base on the Americans. I dont do a lot of US stuff and so I must admit US OD is a bit of a mystery to me. It looks like so nondesript and can vary hugely in shade as it weathers. After much review of my "net" model pic collection and looking up some online discussions I decided on a shade I wanted to represent.

So I always prime with enamel, in this case ModelMaster OD. This is a bit grey and light for the top colour I had in mind but its really only for coverage so its not critical. I do all my top coats with Acrylics so this is a mix of Vallejo OD and GW Catachen Green. I intend to add a slightly brownish hue to it during the blending process.

And I guess I should make a brief mention of assembly on these guys too although this is probably more of a PLOG (painting log) than anything else.

The T28 needed a little care. The right hand outer track unit was a little lonnger than the main hull. Without seeing another kit its hard to tell whether its differential shrinkage or the master at fault.  Anyway I had to even the difference out with a little overhang both front and back. The mountings used to bolt the two sections together then didn't line up either so I cut them and re-joined them. I replaced the legs on the cupola with brass rod for a bit of added strength, all else was fine. 

The T29 only had a few minor breakages. Some of the very finely cast lifting rings and a few track duck-bills were shipping casualties. I replaced the track extenders and will do the lifting rings later. I also leave off most of the fiddly bits until the base colours are laid in. Because I brush it saves on breakages while handling .........

Just a side note regarding the 12.8cm Krupp Pak 44.  You mentioned that some fifty were mounted on other chasses, ex-French and Russian. 

Ian Hogg states as much but the fact is the Krupp and Rheinmetall Pak 44s only had prototypes completed.  None were constructed for actual deployment.  Indeed, the barrels were mostly diverted to be used with the french and russian chasses -- but these fell under the Kanone 81 project nomenclature.

Here's a pic of my Azimut kit of the 12.8cm K 81

I know this is a nitpick but wanted to add this to the discussion.  I have the Krupp Pak 44 in 1/35 and it's a beauty -- no issues with the recoil springs' length though.

Thns Roy - and hey, not a nitpick, good info!!!  I must admit when I was digging around looking for pictures the couple of refs I found were a bit fuzzy - to me anyway    I actually thought the K8 series were the ones used for the AFV mount in the Jagdtiger.

As an aside I'm kinda hoping Gordon will also scale down the Rheinmetall version from their 1/35 kit ........

cheers

Brent

And my entry in the "mine is bigger than yours" competition 

The PaK44 and Krokodil with the base coat on. Primed with Tamiya TS-3 "Rattlecan" Dark yellow and base coated with Humbrol 83 enamel.

And decided to try a Luftwaffe style two tone splinter camo on the Bar.  Oh forgot to mention no assembly issues with this one - might be because it came pretty much as one big piece!! I coudlnt resist making things difficult though and drilled through the hull and pinned the main armament so it could elevate ............

Finally the US heavies with the pre-shade on ............. I use thinned GW Black to shade the panels and edges. This then gets drybrushed back until its almost completely blended and that becomes the base for all the weathering

Queeg, these are too cool for words! I just love these! OUTSTANDING!

I wish someone would do that Krokodile in 1/35-I LOVE the look of that tank destroyer!

I wish someone would do that Krokodile in 1/35-I LOVE the look of that tank destroyer!

Ahhhh hadn't intended to post that - it slipped in   might as well add it in too. And so yeah, yet another vehicle on the bench at the moment - its getting crowded on there.

Anyway its a version of the E-100 17cm KwK44 Jadgpanzer "Krokodil".  Another of the design brief proposals for the E100 chassis. I wouldnt even like to guess the combat weight on this one and of course the gun length probably means it isnt for street fighting .......  Again no issues with assembly, its all supplied in one impressive piece of resin. The lights mounted on the front right glacis plate were broken off in the bag during shipping but thats no biggy, prevented me from breaking them off during painting anyway.  

Brent, great work going on here, the subject choice is killer. I know from your other posts that the finishes are going to be super. Keep posting the progress on these little gems, and thanks for sharing. I must admit I got lost in the link on the Krokodil, its just a fantastic vehicle.

Terry.

Thnx Terry, yeah that Krokodil is an awesome looking vehicle. My plan is for a unit of three .... probably as crazy and as impractal as the real vehicle. Anyway I hope to get another Cromwell one and one of the Kora conversions for some variety.

Shading blended back by drybrushing, then lightened .......

Also the Bar with its base colour and then shading added. Did the gun barrel in blue grey to represnt the laquer finish used on replacement barrels. Painted red-oxide under the sponsons and on some of the wheels to represent the use of primered parts to speed up production and also for a "faux" camo effect .......  thats my story anyway!

cromwell has a lot of verry good kits, i've got 8 of them myself.

if you come across them at a convention or something .. buy what you can. his website is now out the air for almost 6 moths now. they also do some stuff in 1/35 but i forgot wich, sorry.

your builds lookin verry good, like your painting aswell.

cheers

Progress on the Bar, my attempt at the Luftwaffe style splinter camo.  Firstly drybrushed back the shading, then layed in the camo by hand. Wasnt too sure about it as I was doing it but I think it ended up ok. 

And admit I was a little stumpted at how to paint the Krokodil. Sometimes too much blank canvas is a bad thing. Eventually came up with a plan - decided to "Winterise" it.  Actually it was my brothers idea - a good one though despite all that     

Early days yet but I'm hoping that it ends up a bit like these guys when finished ....

Pin wash outlining done then lightly drybrushed to soften. On the winter finish the drybrush is kept to a minimum so as not to belach out the "streaky whitewash" effect.

And another diversion - oh no !    Actually its not so much a diversion as a timely rescue of an old and stalled project, my Hummel SPW.  Its been languishing in the drawer for almost 2 years now as I couldnt decide what camo to put on it. I get a block sometimes, esp where I've put in a bit of work and then get afraid to splash paint on and stuff it up.  Anyway I think it'll make a great partner for the Krokodil and will probably finish a few vehicles in a matching witer scheme.

Also a little bit of crew selection happening ........ crews Figs are going to be a mixture from various AB sets and one lone Milicast US tank driver (in the T28) cause I liked the flying style helmet he was wearing ...........

Post shading completed on the T29.  Done with a very thinned Chestnut Ink and Black acrylic.  The panels are "wetted" with clean thinners, then the shade applied around the edges. If required thinners are used to smooth out any streaks or excess as it dries. I apply it in several passes as its better to build up layers than 1 darker application. On the closeup pic you should be able to see how the shade and thinners also help to smooth out and blend the drybrushing.

And the post shading on the T28 ............ 

And chipping/base weathering being applied. Nothing fancy, its just brushed on. The colour used is a custom mix of Medium Grey, Black and Red/Brown.

Sorry brent, I'm just stuck for words, ...........

Ouch?

Keep up the great work.

Terry.

Thnx for the comments guys ........

A bit more work on the Hummell-SPW. Put the base colour on the tracks. Once dry put a wash over them, the road wheels and the red-primer lower hull. Dry brushed the wheels to bring some of the detail back up and then painted the tires. Outlined all the upper hull bits ready for shading ....... 

And the completed chipping on the US heavies.  At present its darkened up the vehicles quite a bit. That'll be knocked back a little firstly when the rain streaking is applied then with a light dust weathering powder.

Post shading laid in and chipping done on the SPW, time to start thinking about markings. Also had a bit of a misshap somehow. The SPW had a piece of its left rear track mysteriously break off. No idea why, hope its not the sign of them reacting to the Cyrano glue .......

And two other 2 US Heavies underway, a std T29 amd the T30. Dremeled the tracks off the glacis plate on the T29 as its getting a Tiger face similar to those seen on some Pershings and M4A3s in Korea, and wanted a bit more "canvas" to work with. Going to give at least one black disruptive camo.

DaGreatQueeg wrote:

   WOW!  Some of the most interesting subject matter I've seen in a while.

  The fact that these kits are all 1/72 blows the mind! And figs too! The painting and weathering is just superb.

This is some awesome stuff, Queeg!

I wonder where they get their research from? I don't recall anything about that Hummel SPW, or the flakpanzer vehicle you have built here. 

They have some very interesting vehicles; I would love to know their information sources.

the doog wrote:

This is some awesome stuff, Queeg! I wonder where they get their research from? I don't recall anything about that Hummel SPW, or the flakpanzer vehicle you have built here.  They have some very interesting vehicles; I would love to know their information sources.

Hi matey,  nah only the Krokodil is Cromwell and is based on at least a design paper.  The Hummel SPW and FSV are my own designs and kit bashed ......... maybe I should edit the thread title and make it more of a general '46 project log as I've kinda gone off on a tangent? And I havent even shown any of my Brit '46 stuff yet!

Anyway I've attached a bit of art I put together while coming up with a "family" concept for the hummel series and a couple of wip pics.

cheers

Brent

Lovely work as always Brent!

I just got another Cromwell kit, an Aussie Centurion 5, but I will certainly look at getting a Krokodil as well.

Cheers

Mike